Monday, September 5, 2011

BRAND ANALYSIS SERIES: H&M cosmetics

H&M cosmetics

As I was thinking about what to write about in this post today, Yazzi (the other cosmeticcraving mastermind) suggested I do a series kind of thing. So I thought, sure! So I decided to do a series called ‘Brand Analysis’ where I test and analyze some products from each brand (drugstore or otherwise) and tell you my findings and past experiences as well as share some winner and loser products from these brands. So here goes…

Where I live, there are two H&M branches, neither of which stock makeup. Which is why when I was in Spain a few months ago, I was surprised when I walked into H&M on La Rambla in Barcelona and found that it had an entire section dedicated to cosmetics alone! They had shadows, blushers, bronzers, lip products, body sprays, shower gels, nail varnishes and much much more!

Being the product junkie I was.. I had to try some.

The store was packed with people and you could barely make it from one stand to another without bumping into someone or getting elbowed. I managed to get my hands on a few products, and was honestly quite impressed.

The first thing that drew my attention was the wall of nail varnishes. Overwhelmed by choices and since there were no testers, I decided to only pick up a couple, so I wouldn’t waste my money on bad varnishes. But the colors turned out to be amazing! They are opaque from the very first coat, and quite shiny. I like to add a top coat just for an extra shine, but you really don’t need one with these! And they are quite affordable.

This is the first one I picked up and I was instantly drawn to the color. This color is called ‘Moody model’ which I find so cute! It’s a gorgeous deep green, and a solid color with no shimmer, which I quite like from time to time. I’ve been looking for this color everywhere in order to repurchase, but with no avail. I guess I’ll just pick some more up the next time I leave the country. If you read my post on Fall/Winter 2011 nail varnishes, you’ll find it right up there with them! Definitely a favorite.

This is the second color I picked up and it is ‘It’s genious M’, which is a very pretty bright pink, it is also very glossy, but with no shimmer. Also a great color! Wore this most of the summer, and still wear it whenever I don’t quite know what to paint my nails and I’m in a summery mood!

The next item that caught my eye is this eye shadow palette.

I know a lot of people are opposed to buying cosmetics from places like H&M and Topshop, but I personally don’t see the harm. They had a variety of colors and I decided to pick it up as well. It contains 36 colors and these are a variety of neutral and bright colors.

I find that the pigmentation of these colors is good, especially if used with a primer. It’s quite compact for 36 shadows too! This palette measures 11cm x 14.5cm, and is only about 1cm thick. I’ve used a variety of these colors for both day to day use, and for special occasions, and I find these are just so great and versatile. Also, they do not crease and last ALL day on your eyelids (literally! I tried and tested this myself!)

I also picked up is this matte face & body bronzer in the shade ‘Gorgeous Tan’.

I quite like this. First of all, it’s massive (10cm diameter). It’s great for both your face and body. I believe this is the only shade available (since I looked and didn’t find any). It’s a great overall bronzing color, and definitely buildable for contouring (though I personally don’t use it for that). I like to dust some on my shoulders and collarbone when I’m wearing a sleeveless tee or tank top to give me that summer glow (as you can see I’ve already hit pan on this).

The last thing I got was this brush, which I wouldn’t have considered getting, but thought since I’m buying this bronzer, I might as well get a brush to go along with it. But honestly, it is such a great brush. I really didn’t expect it to be. It doesn’t shed at all. It’s a nice shape and size, and it is not rough and bristly like many lower-end brushes can be.

Thank you for visiting cosmeticcraving and hope this helped you all! If there are any questions or requests, do not hesitate to ask! Hope to see you here again and don’t forget to follow if you haven’t already!

xx

Please note that these products were bought by me using my own money and were not sent to me by anyone for review. I am not affiliated with this brand in any way. All opinions are genuinely mine and 100% honest.